Todd Tucker Looks Back on “Secretly Dating” Kandi Burruss in the Early Days of Their Romance

Before Todd Tucker was sharing his life with the world on The Real Housewives of Atlanta, he was working behind the scenes in the TV and film industry. So when he started dating Kandi Burruss, who was a cast member on RHOA when their romance began, it meant he would have to make the move to being in front of the camera, though, as he explained in a recent interview with Bravo Insider, even with TV experience that decision wasn’t easy.

“No, it was really tough. Like, you know, I worked behind the scenes on Housewives, and me and Kandi kind of secretly dated behind the scenes. Kind of like Dom’Unique [Variety] and Brandon [Black] [from Kandi & The Gang], who worked at the [OLG] restaurant. I didn’t want to do Housewives. I didn’t want to come from behind the scenes,” he recalled. “But my [late] mother [Sharon Tucker] was like, ‘Did you not know she was on this show and that if you guys continued to date that you might have to be a part of it?’ And I was like, ‘I never thought of that.’ So my mother made me get myself together. And you know, I did what I had to do.”

In addition to being on reality TV, Kandi was also a seasoned entertainment industry pro thanks to her career in Xscape as well as being a solo artist and chart-topping songwriter. So one might think Todd would have asked his significant other for some advice as he was getting used to stepping out and becoming a public figure.

“He didn’t ask me for any advice,” Kandi shared with Bravo Insider. “I think the fact that Todd does have a background in television helps, because I see so many other relationships fall apart from being on reality TV. But I think the fact that we met while doing the show, and him already knowing how this whole thing goes down [laughs] and how it can be crazy, I think that has helped us stay together for so long.”

Still, Todd and Kandi continue to flex their producer muscles. They have worked together on several projects as a team. Just this week it was announced that they are producers on the Broadway show August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson, opening later this year. The couple also served as producers on Kandi & The Gang, the Bravo series focused on their lives as restaurateurs and the staff at their OLG restaurant. KATG aired its season finale on May 8.

“It’s amazing to come up with a concept and see the idea come together,” Todd said of working on KATG. “And then it’s on the screen and you’re helping so many people. That’s… I think that’s where the joy comes in, when you see a lot of people get opportunities from something that you thought up. So it’s amazing. It feels good.”

As Todd previously explained when speaking with The Daily Dish, working with his wife is definitely inspirational. “I think this relationship, this journey, has definitely proven that we can do anything,” he said. “Like, we’ve done some things that on paper we shouldn’t be able to do. Neither one of us have ever owned a restaurant. [People said,] ‘You can’t open a restaurant. You don’t know nothing about it.’ Watch this. You know what I mean? We did a play when we first started. What did we do? Licensed it. We filmed the play — it was very successful. Just we’ve done things that on paper we’re not supposed to be able to do it. So why would we start thinking we can’t do something? So, that’s it.”

Watch new episodes of RHOA Sundays at 8/7c and streaming on Peacock. Plus, catch up with the Bravo app.